CED Blog
JUNE 2005 – Platinum the most precious metal
Many believe that platinum is a new metal. Did you know some meteorites contain platinum? The earliest recorded meteorite dates back 2 billion years. Since then, platinum has been seen throughout history. In the Louvre, sits a casket with platinum hieroglyphics that dates to about 700 BC. Some artifacts were discovered in Pre-Columbian South America dating 100 BC. Not knowing what they had, the Spanish Conquistadors in the 16th Century named it “platina”, “little silver”. In the mid 1700’s, a Swedish scientist categorized platinum as a precious metal.
May 2005 – The Engagement Ring Phenomenon Part VIII
It looks like a diamond, but what is it and what are some of the differences? Cubic Zirconia was discovered in its natural state in 1937, by two German mineralogists, von Stackelberg and Chudoba. Using x-ray diffraction they determined that this zirconium oxide was made up of tiny cubic crystals.
April 2005 – Are Man Made Diamonds a Good Alternative?
Synthetic diamond is diamond produced through chemical or physical processes in a laboratory. Like naturally occurring diamond, it is composed of a three-dimensional carbon crystal. Synthetic diamonds are also called cultured diamonds, manufactured diamonds, and artificial diamonds.
March 2005 – What is Happening at the Gem Faire Tucson?
COLOR is what is happening at the Gem Faire. There was a spectrum of color, from pink and green tourmalines to fancy colored sapphires to rutilated quartz and interesting fossils.
February 2005 – A History of Valentine’s Day
There are many versions of the history of Valentines Day, most of which contain elements of both Christian and Roman tradition. The one we like the best contends that, in third century Rome, Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage for young men, believing that single men made better soldiers than married ones.
January 2005 – The Engagement Ring Phenomenon: Part VI
Many crystal fragments in their natural creation have impurities. Inclusions and fissures within them which may trap light and detract from it’s color and beauty. Inclusions are irregularities or small bits of foreign matter that were trapped in a diamond while it was being formed several billion years ago.
December 2004 – The Engagement Ring Phenomenon: Part V
What if you already have a stone? How about purchasing a previously owned piece? Whose diamond is it? Not your former betrothed’s? Your mother’s? Grandmother’s? Her mother’s? Hmmm… Something to consider.
November 2004 – Men Do Wear Jewelry
“Is it okay to wear rings other than a wedding band?” This used to be a question asked of us just a couple of years ago. These were the curious who wanted to dare to indulge, but may have felt intimidated by the notion of the 70’s nugget ring or the “pinky” ring much attributed to various movie characters ala mob-style. Of 500 men surveyed, 75% say they wear jewelry. The other 25% say they would like to or are open to the idea of wearing jewelry, if they knew women found it sexy. Well… Gentlemen. They do!
